About this blog
Welcome to my blog - I'm Charles Reed and I advise the Church of England on foreign policy issues.
This blog covers a variety of topics from US foreign policy to European politics and the Middle East - and whatever else happens to be in the news or catch my attention.
This is a conversational blog so please join in as your comments are an essential part of making the whole thing work.
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Monthly Archives: June 2011
The G20 and Food Security – No Ambitious Leap Forward
The week before last I blogged on the Anglican Alliance’s efforts to mobilise pressure ahead of last week’s G20 Agriculture Minister’s meeting. As part of that effort the Bishop of Exeter wrote to Caroline Spelman, the Secretary of State at … Continue reading
Posted in Food Security
Tagged Anglican Alliance, Bishop of Exeter, Caroline Spelman, Duncan Green, Food Security, G20, Oliver De Schutter
1 Comment
China and Britain – Trade versus Human Rights
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabo’s visit to Britain has once again raised debate as to the appropriate relationship between trade and human rights? After signing a trade agreement worth £1.4bn today, the Prime Minister rejected suggestions there was a “trade-off” between … Continue reading
Posted in China, Human Rights
Tagged Britain's Role in the World, China, David Cameron, Human Rights, Trade, Wen Jiabao
2 Comments
Photo Essay: The Odious Debts of Greece
This week’s photo essay captures the demonstrations outside the Greek Parliament in Athens as Members of Parliament voted on the recent changes to the government. This vote was seen by many as a necessary first step in an arduous process of securing a further financial bailout from fellow … Continue reading
Managing Our Defence in an Age of Austerity
Tensions between politicians and the armed forces have once again spilled over into the public domain these last few weeks with the latter complaining once again that they are being asked to do more with less. Much of the existing ill … Continue reading
Posted in Defence
Tagged Britain's Role in the World, Defence, Euroopean Defence Spending, Libya, NATO, Robert Gates, Strategic Defence Review
2 Comments
Photo Essay: Tented City
This week, the world’s eyes have turned to the Syria-Turkey border, where tens of thousands of Syrians have fled the Assad regime’s crackdown and are now living in refugee camps hastily assembled by the Turkish government. The growing Syrian refugee … Continue reading
Posted in Middle East, Photo Essay
Tagged Internally Displaced Persons, Refugees, Syria, Turkey
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Responding to the Violence in Southern Kordofan
The week before last I blogged on how the orchestrated violence by the Government of Sudan in the Abeyi region threatened a humanitarian emergency and South Sudan’s move to independence on 9 July. Since then the situation has worsened significantly. Yesterday, the … Continue reading
Posted in Sudan
Tagged Archbishop of Canterbury, Diocese of Bradford, Diocese of Kadugli, Nick Baines, South Kordofan
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Syria – Paying the Price for Our Mission Creep in Libya?
Today the United Nations Security Council will debate Libya. It will take stock of the situation on the ground and assess the steps that have been taken to uphold UNSCR 1973. At the same time Britain and France will continue … Continue reading
The Anglican Alliance and Food Security
A frequent complaint levelled at the Church is that it is a rather slow, cumbersome and antiquated body out of touch with the concerns of ordinary citizens. The Archbishop of Canterbury’s recent editorial in the New Statesmen paints a rather … Continue reading
Posted in Food Security
Tagged Anglican Alliance, Archbishop of Canterbury, Food Security, G20
1 Comment
Photo Essay: The Floating Cemetery of Lampedusa
This week’s photo essay tells the story of those innocents desperately trying to escape the conflict in Libya. The photo is of a floating cemetery of smuggler’s boats in Lampedusa. These rickety boats were used to transport people fleeing Libya … Continue reading
Building Resilience in a Fragile World
Last month I blogged on how rising food prices in the Middle East might have provided the immediate trigger to the Arab Spring. Two reports, both dealing with the question of resource scarcity in an interdependent world, have since caught … Continue reading
Posted in Food Security
Tagged Alex Evans, Desmond Tutu, Food Security, Grow, Maplecroft, Oxfam
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